Barbara and Bob Bell from winesofcanada.com comment on their wine world

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Power of the Pyramid

Kelowna is home to the Pyramid which resides on the grounds
of Summerhill Pyramid estate winery
One of the oldest and most respect wineries in Canada. Its founder and owner
Stephen Cipes first visited the Okangan in 1986 and believed he'd found unique
conditions to produce "intensely flavoured small grapes"--the perfect
base for sparkling wine. Cipes brought grape clones from France and
"personally planted them on my hands and knees

At Summerhill the wines are stored in the Pyramid. The
Summerhill Pyramid is second only to the Great Pyramid of Egypt for alignment
and precision.Mr
Cipes says

The message is
profound. We have a twenty year experiment proving the effect of sacred
geometry on liquids with a twenty year track record of international gold
medals. My goal from the beginning was and is to make the finest wine in the
world, especially sparkling wines. The French tradition of putting sparkling
wines in a dark cool place for thirty days for the cuvee and dosage to ‘marry’
was my original inspiration to achieve this goal. The wines are made using only
minimal intervention winemaking, and grown 100% organically in this
extraordinary pristine semi desert valley, and the clarification in this True
Pyramid is the final step in production. These are alive wines full of nature’s
grandness, made in the most unique winery in the world.

Summerhill is a
Certified Organic Vineyard using no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical
fertilizers in the soil. In 2012 they achieved Demeter Biodynamic status. The
wines are made under the direction of esteemed winemaker Eric
von Krosigk.

In another first for the winery is pleased to share that
they added a nitrogen generator to their production cellar just in time for the
2012 harvest, with the goal of reducing and/or eliminating the use of sulphur
dioxide as a preservative in winemaking.

Sulphur dioxide (a sulphite) is known to cause allergy-like
reactions to people that are sensitive to this compound, so it is hoped that
these reactions can be minimized. Using nitrogen in sulphur dioxide's
place will also allow Summerhill to keep wine fresh in tank almost indefinitely,
allowing much more flexibility with environmentally-friendly bag-in-box
packaging, kegs, and with their acclaimed multi-vintage sparkling wines.

Additionally, it will add environmental and cost advantages,
with the winery not having to purchase and transport nitrogen in tanks.
This new generator provides the extra benefit of reducing the need
for climate control in the winery, thereby conserving energy.

You can count on the team at Summerhill to provide
outstanding wines, innovative thinking and hospitality

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Léon Millot is a red variety of hybrid grape used for wine . It was created in 1911 in the Oberlin Institute in Colmar, Alsace , by the French viticulturist Eugène Kuhlmann (1858–1932) by crossing the hybrid grape Millardet et Grasset 101-14 O.P. (which is Vitis riparia × Vitis rupestris ) with Goldriesling , which is Vitis vinifera . The variety was named after the winemaker and tree nusery owner Léon Millot.

Léon Millot ripens early, and has high resistance against fungal diseases. It is therefore suited for cultivation in colder climates. It gives powerful wine with some foxy aromas.
Léon Millot is cultivated in small amounts in Switzerland (on 9.35 hectares (23.1 acres) in 2009), Alsace and Canada . In August 2011, a Leon Millot varietal wine produced by a vineyard in the Finger Lakes region of New York State won the prize for “best red wine” in the “New York Wine and Food Classic,” sponsored by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation and open to all of New York's 307 wineries.

In similarity with many other hybrid grapes, Leon Millot was originally not allowed to be used in professional winemaking in the European Union . However, after the regulations were somewhat relaxed, varieties with some Vitis vinifera in their pedigree, such as Léon Millot, are currently allowed to be used for wine production in Europe.
Léon Millot was the product of the same crossing trials as Lucie Kuhlmann and Maréchal Foch , and these three varieties are related.

At Saxon Estate winery in Ontario they are uniquely positioned to make Leon Millot in both Rose and in Red from Estate Grown Leon grapes which are rare in North America. The Grape is gaining popularity in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Leon Milliot is just on example of Grape Varietals been introduced to the Cold Climate wine growing regions of North America

Otheres are Agria: is an early ripping grape suited to cool climate vineyards Agria is also known as Turan. Blattner: is a Hybrid not commonly grown. But has found a home in the BC Coastal Areas. Barber: is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy. the list goes on please see Grape Varietal